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The sages of old discussed: The syndromes in children are prone to both deficiency and excess; treatment must be appropriate. Just as one should avoid using Fuzi (Aconite Lateralis Radix Preparata) during the height of summer heat, and avoid using Dahuang (Rheum Palmatum Rhizoma) during the depth of winter cold.
If these are used contrary to this principle, it constitutes "reinforcing the excess and depleting the deficiency," damaging what is insufficient and benefiting what is already excessive. This is also a sound argument based on reason.
In my evaluation, those who adhere rigidly to a single method are not sufficient for managing warfare; those who stick strictly to a single theory are not sufficient for mastering learning. The key lies in understanding flexibility and adaptation.
I once resided in the city. Hou Zimu's second son, aged five, suffered from diarrhea in midsummer. He presented with a dirty complexion, irritability, thirst, cold ears, and a cold sacrum, along with frequent palpitations and fright.
Palpation revealed that his Heart and Liver pulses were floating and surging-large, while his Spleen and Lung pulses were deficient, fine, and rapid. I said: A dirty complexion, thirst, and diarrhea with deficient, fine, and rapid pulses indicate Summerheat invasion (Zhongshu).
Palpitations, fever, coldness of the ears and sacrum, and surging-large Heart and Liver pulses indicate that smallpox (Douchuang) is about to erupt.
First, administer Huanglian Xiangru San (Coptis and Elsholtzia Decoction) to resolve the summerheat pathogen. Subsequently, administer Chen Shi Yigong San (Master Chen's Extraordinary Efficacy Powder), adding Fuzi (Aconite Lateralis Radix Preparata) to strengthen the Spleen.
After two days, the diarrhea ceased; after three days, the eruptions appeared. Within ten days, full recovery was achieved. This demonstrates the efficacy of using Fuzi in midsummer.
Furthermore, the young son of Marshal Yang, aged four, contracted convulsive wind (Jingfeng) in the twelfth lunar month. Various physicians treated him, resolving the initial symptoms, but he remained comatose, anorexic, with slightly cold limbs for five days.
Previous doctors had administered numerous doses of herbs to awaken the Spleen and assist Yang.
Upon palpating the six pulses, only the Spleen pulse was deep and slippery, while the other pulses were faint and moderate. A deep and slippery Spleen pulse indicates accumulation stagnation within the Spleen, constituting Pi Yue (Spleen Restriction), which typically presents with difficulty in defecation, rather than Yin Cold Jue (Yin Jue, Yin-type Reversal Cold).
He agreed. Thus, Xiehuang San (Drain the Yellow Powder) was prescribed with added Dahuang (Rheum Palmatum Rhizoma), decocted in water. After three doses, the bowels moved freely, consciousness cleared, appetite returned, and peace was restored.
This demonstrates the merit of using Dahuang in deep winter.
Using medicine is like using troops; when application is necessary, hesitation is unacceptable. It is akin to crossing the Lu River in May or pacifying Caizhou on a snowy night; why wait for autumn when the weather is crisp and horses are fat?
If one rigidly adheres to seasonal conventions for usage, neither armies nor medicines will achieve success.
Though I am dull-witted, having practiced medicine for over fifty years, whenever treating infants ill for more than ten days, whether using cooling or warming-drying formulas, I first clarify the root and branch, differentiate deficiency and excess, and then prescribe medication. These attempts have repeatedly proven effective.
This expertise is derived particularly from observing complexion and listening to voice, seeking sincerely through mental engagement, rather than relying solely on pulse diagnosis.
For children above three years of age, combining complexion observation with pulse diagnosis is especially excellent.
I have employed these verified methods to treat various diseases, rescuing many critical cases to safety.
I briefly detail the difficult cases of the two families mentioned above, not to boast of my skills.